Michigan explosion kills 1, leaves woman in critical condition

A pre-dawn explosion destroyed a home in Plainfield Township, Mich., on Tuesday, killing one person and leaving a woman in critical condition after neighbors pulled her from the burning wreckage, WOOD-TV reported.

The rescue, carried out by neighbors who sustained injuries pulling a victim from the debris, illustrates the dangerous split-second decisions civilians face in residential emergencies before professional responders arrive.

The blast struck the Plainfield Township home, north of Grand Rapids, at around 4 a.m., according to the Kent County Sheriff's Office. Emergency responders arrived to find the structure destroyed and engulfed in flames.

Neighbor Tim Johnson said screams from inside the smoldering ruins drew him to act. "I had to get in there and get her out," Johnson told WOOD-TV. He and a second neighbor "grabbed her arms and pulled her out as far as we could," he said, describing the rescue.

The woman was transported to a hospital, where she remained in critical condition, WOOD-TV reported. A second person was found dead at the scene.

Johnson sustained second-degree burns to his head and hand during the rescue effort. The cause of the explosion had not been determined, according to the Kent County Sheriff's Office.

The Kent County Sheriff's Office had not released the identities of the victims as of Tuesday morning, and the cause of the explosion remained under investigation.